1. Which of the possible venues do you think would best suit the play? Circle the one you choose and explain why you think it would work best.
I think a proscenium stage would be best. The playwright called for a set composed of various platforms, and the actors move around the stage a lot, especially during the first scene. A proscenium stage would allow the actors to not worry about tripping over someone or accidently turning their back to the audience, and it would prevent the audience from getting distracted by looking at other audience members. Also, the moment when Willis gets shot requires a great deal of suspended disbelief, and having the action occur a distance away from the audience would allow them to better able suspent their disbelief than if the actor pretended to die only a few feet away from them.
2. What are some of the challenges posed by the play on the scene designer?
The main challenge posed on the scene designer is the many scene transitions. The play calls for minimal props and only suggestions of place, which makes designing the scene easier, but the scene designer must still take into consideration how to smoothly move from one place to another. It also helps that the play calls for different platforms to be set up for the settings; this would make it easier for the designer to create different locations. However, the designer must be careful that if different sets are on at the same time that one does not overshadow the other.
3. Choose a character from the play and suggest how she/he should be dressed. In what ways do you think the costume would help accentuate his/her character.
Rusty should be dressed in very neat, but old clothes. For example, he could wear a button-up that is faded and frayed at the hems and worn, faded jeans. This would harken back to his days on the force where he was a neat, upstanding cop who followed the rules and never broke his moral code. The faded nature of the outfit would suggest how old he is, and how he is a relic of the old days; the morals and actions that worked for him are not necessarily those that are present in the new era of police work.
4. Provide ideas about the use of light in the play.
The lighting should be very dim for most of the play. Most of the scenes occur outside in Manhattan at night, or inside apartments which could have poor lighting to designate how the characters are struggling to make it in a world where they are the underdog. The poor lighting would also make the events of the play seem as literally shady and eerie as they are metaphorically and morally. The lighting should not change when Willis gets shot; the lack of fanfare around this moment will make the moment all the more jarring. The lights should slowly fade to black as Val gives his testimony at the end, signaling that he has lost his way and morally condemned himself.
5. Suggest music or sound effects that might be used to suggest the mood or atmosphere of the play and the transitions between parts of the play.
The play calls for music that resembles wind chimes and has a "haunting" quality. This would begin to play before the show began, briefly stopping during scenes, and then playing through transitions. It would also play during the end scene as Val gives his final testimony to suggest the unhappiness he has brought on himself and the uncertainty of his future. Besides the music, the scenes would not have many sound effects. The silence would lend an eerie quality to the action, as New York is usually a loud place, and the silence would tell the audience that something is not right. The only major sound effect would be the gunshot when Val kills Willis.
1. Which of the possible venues do you think would best suit the play? Circle the one you choose and explain why you think it would work best.
I think a proscenium stage would be best. The playwright called for a set composed of various platforms, and the actors move around the stage a lot, especially during the first scene. A proscenium stage would allow the actors to not worry about tripping over someone or accidently turning their back to the audience, and it would prevent the audience from getting distracted by looking at other audience members. Also, the moment when Willis gets shot requires a great deal of suspended disbelief, and having the action occur a distance away from the audience would allow them to better able suspent their disbelief than if the actor pretended to die only a few feet away from them.
2. What are some of the challenges posed by the play on the scene designer?
The main challenge posed on the scene designer is the many scene transitions. The play calls for minimal props and only suggestions of place, which makes designing the scene easier, but the scene designer must still take into consideration how to smoothly move from one place to another. It also helps that the play calls for different platforms to be set up for the settings; this would make it easier for the designer to create different locations. However, the designer must be careful that if different sets are on at the same time that one does not overshadow the other.
3. Choose a character from the play and suggest how she/he should be dressed. In what ways do you think the costume would help accentuate his/her character.
Rusty should be dressed in very neat, but old clothes. For example, he could wear a button-up that is faded and frayed at the hems and worn, faded jeans. This would harken back to his days on the force where he was a neat, upstanding cop who followed the rules and never broke his moral code. The faded nature of the outfit would suggest how old he is, and how he is a relic of the old days; the morals and actions that worked for him are not necessarily those that are present in the new era of police work.
4. Provide ideas about the use of light in the play.
The lighting should be very dim for most of the play. Most of the scenes occur outside in Manhattan at night, or inside apartments which could have poor lighting to designate how the characters are struggling to make it in a world where they are the underdog. The poor lighting would also make the events of the play seem as literally shady and eerie as they are metaphorically and morally. The lighting should not change when Willis gets shot; the lack of fanfare around this moment will make the moment all the more jarring. The lights should slowly fade to black as Val gives his testimony at the end, signaling that he has lost his way and morally condemned himself.
5. Suggest music or sound effects that might be used to suggest the mood or atmosphere of the play and the transitions between parts of the play.
The play calls for music that resembles wind chimes and has a "haunting" quality. This would begin to play before the show began, briefly stopping during scenes, and then playing through transitions. It would also play during the end scene as Val gives his final testimony to suggest the unhappiness he has brought on himself and the uncertainty of his future. Besides the music, the scenes would not have many sound effects. The silence would lend an eerie quality to the action, as New York is usually a loud place, and the silence would tell the audience that something is not right. The only major sound effect would be the gunshot when Val kills Willis.